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THE WHITE GIANT AND THE 
BLACK GIANT 












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THE WHITE GIANT’S CASTLE 
“Beautiful white towers reaching up to the mountains ” 







THE 

WHITE GIANT 

AND THE 

BLACK GIANT 

\ 

ANNIE W. FRANCHOT 

Author of “Bugs and Wings/' “ Max," “The Big Four and 
One More," and other stories 



NEW YORK 

E. P. DUTTON dr COMPANY 

1^ 


Copyright, 1924 
By Annie W. Franchot 



THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 

Printed in U. S. A. 


To 

TWO LITTLE BOYS 
I LOVE 


“ Tell us a story” 

My little ones said 
When playtime o'er 
They were ready for bed . 

“ Tell us a story of giants of old , 
Of fairies and elves , 

The ones you've told” 

And so I gathered them close to me 
In tender , loving intimacy 
And told them the tale I'm telling you . 
Of course , they asked as you will , too , 
“Is it true , Gram, really true?” 


THE WHITE GIANT 



THE WHITE GIANT 


T his is a story of the adventures — 
good and bad —of two boys, one an 
American, Roy Van Rensselaer, and 
one a Swiss, Ted Golay. When you have 
finished the story, you may tell me if you 
think they were 
good boys or bad 
boys. 

Far up in the 
Alps, the snow¬ 
capped mountains 
of the beautiful 
country of Swit¬ 
zerland, in a chalet 
overlooking the 
valley of the River Aar and Lake Thun, 
lived the Swiss artist, Edouard Golay, his 



4 THE WHITE GIANT 

wife Marie, an American, and their son 
Edouard — called Ted. Their home was in 
Berne, the capital city of Switzerland, but 
in the summer they went, as soon as the 
snows melted, to the mountain home they 
loved so well. 

With them, this summer of our story, was 
Mrs. Golay’s sister’s son, Roy. Mrs. Golay 
had visited her old home in New York in 
the spring and brought her nephew Royal 
back with her for the summer. Roy and 
Ted were almost the same age — Ted seven 
and Roy almost eight. They were great 
pals, and both loved the mountain life. 

Mr. Golay painted many beautiful pic¬ 
tures of the mountains and the shepherds, 
but the boys liked best of all his pictures 
of the red-and-white spotted cows of the 
Canton of Berne. 

The boys grew very fond of the gentle 
cows and liked nothing better than to be 


THE WHITE GIANT 


5 


with the shepherds at sunset, when each 
shepherd gave his call—the Ranz des Vasche 
(the cow call). The cows seemed to know 
their own shepherd’s call, and although 
through the day the herds had been scat¬ 
tered over the pastures, they would obey 
the call, and each particular herd would file 
off in the direction of its own herdsman. 

Every herd has its 
leader, called the 
“ Dreichal kuhe,” or 
the bell cow. This cow 
is very jealous of her 
place and allows no 
other to take the lead. 

She wears the largest 
bell. 

The shepherd’s call is mostly a yodel. 
The call, originally and oftentimes now, is 
played on the Alpine horn, a wooden in¬ 
strument, five to eight feet long, made from 



6 THE WHITE GIANT 

the curved root of the fir tree, usually cov¬ 
ered with bark. Hundreds of years ago 
when there were many wars, the horn was 
used as a speaking 
trumpet to call from 
one mountain to an¬ 
other a warning of the 
approach of the en¬ 
emy. Again it was used 
at the close of day. 
The shepherds would 
sound “Good-night, 
good-night,” repeated 
many times by other 
horns, and the thou¬ 
sand good-nights echoed through the moun¬ 
tains and valleys as the twilight curtain of 
Heaven closed on shepherds and flocks. 

Ted and Roy liked to be with the shep¬ 
herds when milking time came; to listen to 
the mountains echoing with the shepherds’ 



THE WHITE GIANT 7 

calls; the jingle-jangle of the 
cowbells as the cows hur¬ 
ried, as much as the slow 
cows can hurry, to answer 
their master’s call. 

When the cows were all 
home, the shepherd went 
among them giving each a 
handful of salt from a little 
bag hanging at his side. The 
boys were amused at the 
one-legged milking stool that 

the shepherds wore strapped 
around their waist, the one 
leg sticking out like a dog’s 
tail in the back. 

The shepherd’s constant 
companion is a long-stem¬ 
med pipe which hangs nearly 
to his waist. The shepherds 
often make these from the 






8 THE WHITE GIANT 

branches of the fir trees and cut the bowls 
in the shape of faces. 

The boys watched the shepherd make the 
big cheeses that looked like great cart 
wheels and are shipped from these moun¬ 
tain places to all parts of the world. But 
of these I will tell you some other day, 
for now I want to tell you of the boys’ 
adventure. 

Roy and Ted often took long walks 
through the mountain paths, but they would 
always return when they heard the shep¬ 
herd’s call and the jingle-jangle of the bells. 
One afternoon they were so busy talking 
of the wonderful things about them that 
they wandered far in the forest. 

Ted told Roy of the great Swiss Giant 
Gargantus of the mountains, who, when he 
went out to walk, bestrode the valley with 
one foot on one mountain and the other 
foot on the mountain top across the valley, 


THE WHITE GIANT 


9 



The great door swung open 




















10 THE WHITE GIANT 


and whose breath would fill the valley like 
fog or frost. 

Suddenly Roy exclaimed, “See, Ted, what 
place is this?” 

Before them rose a great white wall and 
high gates of silvery-white birch. 

“I don’t know, I have never been here 
before,” said Ted. 

The boys tried to open the gate but they 
could not reach the latch, therefore they 
tried to climb over, but the bark was slip¬ 
pery, and so were their shoes from walking 
on the pine needles, arid they slipped back 
at each effort. At last Roy’s foot struck 
the latch as he came down, and the great 
gate swung open. The boys jumped down 
quickly and ran through the gateway be¬ 
fore the gate swung back and latched again. 

“We’re in luck, Roy,” said Ted. 

“Gee, Ted, what is this place? Every¬ 
thing is pure white. Isn’t it beautiful?” 


THE WHITE GIANT 


ii 


“Oh, Roy, you are all white too — all but 
the end of your nose. That looks pretty 
black.” 

“And you, Ted, you are just beautiful, all 
but one ear, and that is black. Why is it, 
do you suppose?” 

“It must be some magic place. It can’t 
be bad when it is pure white. Look at those 
beautiful white towers reaching up to the 
mountains. It must be a castle; perhaps 
some giant lives here.” 

“It looks very mysterious to me, Ted. 
Let’s go down this path.” 

So, hand in hand, and feeling like two ad¬ 
venturers, although a bit scared, down the 
path they ran. 

“Gee, Ted, you do look funny with that 
black ear.” 

“And you too, Roy, with your black-tipped 
nose. I wonder why we don’t turn white 
all over.” 


12 


THE WHITE GIANT 


“ Oh, look, Ted, here is a lake, and see the 
beautiful boat. It is coming toward us.” 

“There is a head on top of the cabin. It 
looks like Santa Claus.” 

Both boys stood in open-eyed wonder, their 
hands clasped tight. 

As the boat reached the shore, two boys 
jumped out. They were but little 
older than Ted and Roy. They 
too were all white, not even a nose 
or ear was black. 


They did not look 
to right or left until 
they had fastened 
the boat. They then 
knelt while a great 
White Giant stepped 
out of the boat. 

Ted said in a 
whisper, “That head on the cabin was the 
head of the Giant.” 





THE WHITE GIANT 


13 


Roy just winked. 

As the Giant came toward them the boys 
dropped on their knees as the little white 
boys had done. The Giant was clothed in 
purest white, and his long white beard and 
hair shone like spun silver. 

In a deep rolling voice he said, “Rise, 
boys, and tell me who you are and how you 
got in here. My gates are always closed.” 

Jumping up the boys said together, “We 
are cousins.” “I am Edouard Golay,” said 
Ted. “And I am Royal Van Rensselaer 
from the United States of America.” 

Teddy told of how they opened the gates, 
and the Giant said, “Hum! hum! hum!' 
Someone has been careless; but it must be 
that you are good boys for I see you have 
turned white on entering, and only people 
who have pure hearts and minds turn white 
— but what is that I see on your nose, Roy? 
And what is the trouble with your ear, Ted?” 


14 THE WHITE GIANT 

The little white boys, who stood back of 
the Giant, giggled. 

Roy said, “I was very naughty, Mr. Giant, 
before I left home. I thought I knew every¬ 
thing. I told my mother I knew more than 
she did, and now I have learned how little 
I knew. I did not know anything about this 
wonderful place, nor about the great moun¬ 
tains, and the shepherds and their call; the 
cows and the bell cow; how the great cheeses 
are made, and oh! so many things. I wish 
I could tell my mother this minute how sorry 
I am. I know now that she knows more in 
a minute than I know in a year. If only I 
‘could tell her how sorry I am,” and Roy 
sighed heavily. 

“It is because I was so naughty that my 
nose is black, I’m sure, but I don’t see why 
Teddy’s ear should be black, for I have never 
known him to be naughty.” 

Teddy blushed right through his white 


THE WHITE GIANT 


15 


cheeks when he said, “Yes, I was very bad, 
Roy. I have not told you how I took one 
of the big cheeses the shepherds had made 
and rolled it down the mountain side. It 
was taller than I, and it rolled like a great 
yellow wheel—down, down, faster and faster 
it rolled until it reached a farm yard, where 
a mother pig with her six little pigs were 
rooting in the mud. The cheese rolled into 
the pigs, the pigs rolled with the cheese, the 
cheese and pigs rolled into an old woman 
milking her cow. The cow tossed the old 
woman so high in the air that she came 
down on the back of a donkey in the farm 
yard. The donkey brayed ‘He-Haw, He- 
Haw,’ and away they went, the donkey, the 
old woman, milk pail and milk, the pigs and 
cheese rolling faster and faster until they 
bumped into a peasant sitting under a tree 
playing his accordion. The peasant cried, 
‘Wait a minute, I must finish my tune,’ 


16 THE WHITE GIANT 

but rolling cheeses do not wait, so the man 
played on, as he rolled with the old woman, 
the milk pail and milk, the pigs, the donkey 
and cheese. They caught up the fowls in 
the farm yards; they caught up the dogs; 
they caught up the cats; they rolled into 
two lovers who were yodeling as they walked, 
and the accordion man called, ‘Yodel on, 
I’ll play,’ and they yodeled and the man 
played, but the donkey brayed so loud, the 
pigs squealed so hard, the cow mooed, the 
dogs barked, the cats meowed, the rooster 
crowed, the hens cackled, the geese squawked, 
and it was hard to keep time to the music 
as they rolled. On and on, faster and faster 
they went until they reached the great high¬ 
way; there they rolled into a herd of goats. 
The goats caught them on their horns and 
butted them so high they all landed on 
the arms of a windmill and had a fine ride. 
Then the wind began to blow, the wind- 


THE WHITE GIANT 


17 



The windmill’s arms swung faster and faster 


































18 THE WHITE GIANT 

mill’s arms swung faster and faster and tossed 
the cheese, the pigs, the donkey, the peas¬ 
ant, the old woman, the cow, the dogs, the 
cats, the chickens, the geese, and the lovers 
high in the air, and they came down in the 
Lake of Thun. They made such a splash 
that they were washed high and dry on the 
mountain side. 

“The peasant said to the cheese, ‘You old 
cheese! You started all this trouble and 
you must be punished.’ 

“The peasant took out his pocketknife 
and cut the poor battered and worn old 
cheese in many pieces, giving each one of 
his rolling companions a piece, but keeping 
the largest for himself. Then they sat down 
and talked it all over, but the cheese being 
so cut up, couldn’t tell them that it was 
my fault, not its fault, and so no one knew 
who really started the thing rolling.” 

When Ted finished, Roy was holding his 


THE WHITE GIANT 


19 


sides with laughter. The little white boys 
were laughing so hard that they had to sit 
down, and the Giant’s face was all wrinkled 
up in the queerest way. 

“Gee, but it was funny, Sir Giant,” said 
Ted. 

“Yes, I know it was, Ted, but do you 
think it is right to have fun when others 
have to suffer for it? I fear you will have 
to wear your black ear a little longer.” 

“Oh! Roy’s nose is all white,” said Ted, 
a little ruefully. 

“Yes, Roy has proven himself sorry for 
what he did,” answered the Giant. 

Roy rubbed his nose and looked happy. 

“Now, boys, would you like to see my 
grounds and castle?” said the great White 
Giant. “ Remember, you must keep all 
wicked thoughts away—only kind thoughts 
and pure hearts live here. The wicked- 
hearted go to the Black Giant, whose heart 


20 THE WHITE GIANT 

and life are black. Now, I will take you in 
my boat over to the forest.” 

The White Giant got into the boat and 
sat down on a raised seat, with his head 
above the cabin so that he could see all 
about him. 

The two little white boys showed Ted and 
Roy where to sit, and then untied the boat 
and jumped in. They raised the white sail 
and sailed swiftly away across the blue 
water. 

The water of the Lake was the only bit 
of color on the grounds, and it looked like 
a blue jewel in a setting of white silver. 

When they reached the other side of the 
Lake, the White Giant stepped out before 
they touched the shore and lifted Roy and 
Ted out, one in each hand, landing them 
safely on a bank of white moss. The little 
white boys tied the boat and soon joined 
the Giant. 


THE WHITE GIANT 


21 



They came to a forest . . . everything was white 





























22 


THE WHITE GIANT 



After a short walk along a 
path shaded by a high white wall 
on one side and great white birch 
and sycamore trees on the other, 
they came to a forest. The boys 
gasped in wonder, every¬ 
thing was so white. 

“Has it snowed here?” 
said Roy. 

The White Giant laughed so loud and 
hard that the trees shook and queer little 
white objects came dropping down, and 
Ted caught Roy’s hand in fright. 

“Do not be afraid, boys, these are my 
pet monkeys,” said the White Giant. 

Ted and Roy turned to see 
the little white boys playing 
with the monkeys, one on each 
shoulder. When the monkeys 
jumped to Ted’s and Roy’s 
shoulders they were not afraid 



THE WHITE GIANT 23 

and petted the little fellows as they had seen 
the other boys do. 

Just as the monkeys swung themselves 
back into the overhanging branches, the 
boys heard a queer sound as out through 
the trees came a beautiful great white 
moose. 

Teddy screamed and Roy snuggled close 
to the Giant. The Giant took the boys’ 
hands, led them to the moose, and bade 
them pat his head. The moose licked their 
hands and tried to look pleasant, but when 
he smiled he showed his big teeth, and he 
looked very scary. He soon turned and 
went into the forest. 

The Giant said something to the little 
white boys and they ran back, soon return¬ 
ing with an enormous bicycle with a great 
wheel in front and a small one in the back. 
The Giant lifted one leg over the saddle 
and at the same time lifted Roy and Ted, 


24 


THE WHITE GIANT 


putting one in the right-hand pocket and 
the other in the left-hand pocket of his 
coat. 

“Now we can get on faster,” said the 
Giant. “It is hard for you 
to keep up with me in walk¬ 
ing.” 

The boys laughed and Roy 
said, “Gee, sir, this is fun.” 

And Ted said, “Yes, 
Sir White Giant, thank 
you, Sir White Giant.” 

As they rode through 
the forest, they saw 
many strange sights and heard many strange 
sounds. 

“It sounds like the circus, Roy,” said Ted. 

At one turn they heard a queer B-r-r, B-r-r 
— and out from the forest came a great white 
bear, who sniffed at the Giant’s pockets. 
The Giant reached in his pocket, took out 




THE WHITE GIANT 25 

some big white crackers and told Roy to 
feed the bear from his hand. 

The boys were now losing all fear. They 
fed the bear and thought it great fun. 

A little farther on a big white lion with 
a shaggy mane came bounding out and 
loped playfully along by their side for a 
time, then went off to join his fellows in 
the forest. 

The Giant gave the boys each a cracker 
and, as they were riding along looking to 
right and left, Teddy was astonished when 
the queer, long white head of a camel stooped 
down and took the cracker from his hand. 

The Giant said, “Bad boy, Mohammed!” 

Teddy said, “Oh! see, his ears have 
turned black like mine.” 

The Giant said, “Go into the forest, Mo¬ 
hammed, and do some good deed for your 
fellow creatures, and so regain your white 


ear. 


26 THE WHITE GIANT 


The camel went off with his head hang¬ 
ing in shame. 

Across their path ran many white rabbits, 
squirrels, woodchucks, mink, and various 
small animals. 

It was not long before they came to a 
great open space where, on the white grass, 
many children were playing. In the cen¬ 
ter of this great place a beautiful foun¬ 
tain played and little white cherubs were 
splashing in the water and shouting with 
glee. 

One group of boys, about the age of Roy 
and Ted, were having a game of marbles; 
another group were playing with a great 
white football; another group of girls and 
boys were playing croquet, and still another 
were having a game of tennis. Swings and 
teeters were in full use. At one end of the 
place was a high seat with a canopy over 
the top and huge broad arms at the side. 


THE WHITE GIANT 27 

The Giant seated himself there and put 
Ted on one arm, Roy on the other. 

When the boys were seated they looked 
about them, and lo! in a circle around the 
place were all the animals of the forest and 
all the birds of the air. The little girls 
came from their play, danced up to the 
animals, tied big white bows on the moose’s 
horns and made him look very foolish. They 
threw a long ribbon up over the giraffe’s 
neck and, pulling down his head, rubbed his 
nose with great tenderness. The boys no¬ 
ticed that the camel’s ears had grown white 
again, therefore they knew he had done 
some good deed. 

Next, the girls decorated 
the camel, who picked them 
up with his great thick lips, 
seated them on the hump 
of his back, and took them 
for a ride around the circle 



28 THE WHITE GIANT 


in such a queer, ungainly way that the chil¬ 
dren were all laughing. Then gently he 
knelt and let the little girls down again. 
Out from the animal circle came a great 
white bear. As he came toward them Roy 
and Ted saw that in his mouth he carried 
a large piece of white bark of the sycamore 
tree, on which was honey in the honey¬ 
comb. Now honey is a great treat to a 
bear, and it proved too tempting for Bruin. 
It was so near that he could not resist a 
bite of it. t A bear’s bite is quite a big bite, 
and there was not much honey left when 
he reached the Giant’s chair and offered 
his gift to the boys. 

The Giant touched his nose and said, 
“Fe, fi, fo, fum, Bruin. Thou hast done a 
greedy deed.” Then Bruin’s nose turned 
black. 

Bruin turned, with his head down, and 
scrambled off into the forest to return a 


THE WHITE GIANT 29 

few minutes later with another dish of 
honey, which he presented with great de¬ 
light to the Giant and the boys. The Giant 
patted his nose and commended him; then 
his nose turned white again. 

Teddy, seeing this, whispered to the Giant, 
“What can I do to have my ear turn 
white?” 

The Giant said, “Do you see that little 
boy down there? He has hurt his foot. 
He cannot play with the rest. Can you do 
anything to make him happy?” 

“I’ll try,” said Ted, as he climbed down 
from the great chair to the ground below. 

He took some marbles from his pocket, 
ran to the little boy, dropped on the ground 
by him, and with a sweet smile asked the 
boy to have a game with him. The boy 
was delighted, and as the game went on 
Roy called, “Ted, oh, Ted, your ear is 
white! Your ear is white!” 


30 THE WHITE GIANT 


Ted rubbed his ear and told the boy the 
reason why his ear was black. 

“Why is it there is no fighting or scrap¬ 
ping here?” asked Ted. 

“Oh, there never is here. Everyone is 
learning to be good before they go back 
home,” said the little boy, “and everyone 
is happy. They don’t want to fight or 
quarrel.” 

Just then the White Giant and Roy came 
to them, and the Giant picked up the little 
lame boy and said, “Now we shall go into 
the castle. It grows a little cold, and the 
animals have all gone into the forest.” 

The Giant carried the little boy. Roy 
and Ted followed as well as they could, 
running to keep up with the Giant’s 
strides. 

Up the great marble steps they went, 
and when they came to the big front doors 
the Giant roared: 


THE WHITE GIANT 


3i 


“Fe! Fi! Fo! Fum! 

It is your master; 

I have come; 

Open the door to me.” 

The doors flew open. 

The boys saw a most beautiful large 
room. At one end was a huge white marble 
fireplace in which great logs were crack¬ 
ling. At the other end of the room, which 
was really a great hall, was a broad white 
marble stairway, and in the middle of the 
room was a long table covered with a pure 
white cloth and set with fine white china 
and sparkling silver, beautiful flowers, and 
candles in tall candelabra. At the ends of 
the table were great high chairs covered 
with white velvet. The plates, forks, spoons, 
and knives at these places were very, very 
large, but at the side places they were the 
usual sizes. 


32 


THE WHITE GIANT 



The White Queen was a beautiful woman, very tall, 
with silvery-white hair 







THE WHITE GIANT 


33 


The Giant put the little lame boy down 
very gently in a chair at the side of the 
table and bade Ted and Roy to sit by the 
fire on a high bench. Their feet dangled 
high above the floor. From a shelf over 
the fireplace, the Giant took down a great 
white book and gave it to the boys to read, 
and what do you think it was? “Jack the 
Giant Killer.” The boys struggled to hold 
the book, but it was too big even with their 
four hands, so they slid down to the floor 
and, lying on their stomachs, were soon lost 
in the adventures of Jack. 

“What’s that, Ted?” whispered Roy, as 
beautiful music filled the room. Jumping up 
they saw coming down the long stairway a 
beautiful woman, very tall, with silvery-white 
hair, dressed all in glistening white, with a 
long white veil. With her were many young 
girls and boys. All the girls and boys with 
the tall lady were singing as they came. 


34 THE WHITE GIANT 

This was the music the boys heard. A great 
organ underneath was made to play by the 
light and airy steps of the children on the 
stairs. 

At the foot of the stairs stood the White 
Giant, and he was now dressed in a long 
robe of white velvet and his face was so 
white it fairly shone. His hair looked like 
white ostrich plumes as it curled on his 
neck, and his eyebrows looked like white 
spun sugar. His beard was in long white 
curls like sugar candy. He took the beauti¬ 
ful lady’s hand and, as they came toward 
Roy and Ted, the boys bowed low. 

“You are right, boys, to bow low to this 
lady. She is my wife, the Queen of this 
beautiful place. It is she who has made us 
all good and happy, and no one can be un¬ 
happy when she is near. 

The Queen stooped and kissed Ted and 
Roy as they jumped on the bench and 


THE WHITE GIANT 


35 


stood on tiptoe to meet her. She then 
turned to all the girls and boys with her, 
and said to Ted and Roy: 

“These are the girls and boys who are 
learning to be very good: to be pure in heart 
and to have perfect control of their tempers 
and tongues so that they may go out into 
the world to make the world better. When 
you meet a very true, good person in the 
world you may know she or he has come 
from the castle of the White Giant, the 
pure-hearted.” 

The Giant now took his Queen’s hand 
and seated her at the table, putting Roy on 
one side and Ted on the other. The other 
boys and girls took their places at the sides 
of the table. The Giant was seated in the 
great white chair at the head of the table. 
They all bowed their heads while the Giant 
asked God’s blessing. 

When they looked up they saw the jolli- 


36 THE WHITE GIANT 

est little elves bearing white dishes with 
everything good to eat —first white fish 
with white sauce, then white meat of chicken 
with foamy white sauce, and corn, white 
cauliflower, white cabbage, all beautifully 
decorated. The elves were grinning from 
ear to ear, making their faces look like 
cracked china. Two little elves carried high 
over their heads a huge loaf of white bread 
with a great knife. This they put down 
before the Giant who cut the bread in big 
slices which, using the knife for the purpose, 
he tossed way down the long table so skill¬ 
fully that each slice landed on the plate 
where it was intended to go. This made all 
the little girls and boys giggle, and for a 
few minutes no one could eat. 

The Queen told them many funny stories, 
and Ted and Roy laughed until they held 
their sides with laughter. 

The last dish was the most beautiful of 


THE WHITE GIANT 


37 


all. The boys heard tiny bells ringing as 
down the great stairway came all the little 
white elves marching in time to the music, 
silver bells on their caps and sleeves. 

As they came down the stairway into the 
room, thousands of silvery lights came on 
all around them, and the elves danced to 
the music of organ and bells as they bore 
on great silver platters the most beautiful 
ice cream you ever saw, made like the 
Giant’s castle, all in lacelike towers. Each 
boy and girl had a tower. With the cream 
was served a big white cocoanut angel-food 
cake. 

When the elves had carried the empty 
dishes away, the Giant pressed a button. 
The tramp, tramp of heavy feet was heard 
as the great front door flew open. In came 
a parade of all the beasts of the forest in 
pairs just as they must have looked when 
they went into Noah’s Ark. 


38 THE WHITE GIANT 

First the elephants waltzed to the music 
of “The Blue Danube,” played by the organ. 

“Oh, oh, how funny!” said one of the little 
girls, and they were ridiculously funny as 
they tried to keep time to the music with 
their big, flopping white feet, their trunks 
swinging in time to the music. Then came 
the lions, trying to smile as they danced, 
and the smile was so funny that the chil¬ 
dren could hardly keep their faces straight. 
The kangaroos were very amusing, carrying 
their little boys and girls in their pockets. 

“Oh, see the bears dance,” said one little 
boy, as the two big bears stood on their 
hind feet and danced 
around together. Ted 
and Roy kept their 
faces pretty straight 
, until the elephant 

‘ ' | 1 ' ! | lifted his trunk to 

Li ^ Z.J 1 Ted’s plate and stole 



THE WHITE GIANT 


39 


his cake, his little eyes just dancing. Then 
the boys burst out laughing, and every¬ 
one laughed too, and the elephant danced 
round and round with the kangaroo. The 
elves fed all the animals, and then elves 
and animals left the great hall. 

The Queen touched a bell and down from 
the ceiling came a long tray with something 
that looked like great white icicles, but 
proved to be the most delicious candy. 
Everyone had all they could eat, and the 
Queen filled all the children’s pockets full 
to the top. Then they all went out to the 
garden and had the most delicious foamy 
soda water from a fountain at one end of 
the garden. 

Roy nudged Ted and said, “Gee, Ted, 
did you ever have such a good time in 
your life?” 

Ted answered, “Nimmer, nimmer”—which 
is the Swiss for “never, never.” 


40 


THE WHITE GIANT 


The Queen showed the boys her lovely 
garden all full of fragrant white lilies, gyp- 
sophila, stocks, daisies, flox, and roses. She 
gave them bouquets of flowers to take 
home, and then the Giant came and said the 
boys must start for home, for Ted’s mother 
and father would be worried. He clapped 
his great hands and up came two beautiful 
white ponies with white saddles and bridles. 

Ted and Roy bowed low to the Queen, 
bade good-night to everyone in the garden, 
thanked the Queen and Giant, jumped on 
the ponies, and were off. 

The white ponies dashed away, and when 
they came to the great gate they rubbed 
their noses on the latch and the gate swung 
open. Down through the mountain paths 
they flew. The boys held tight to the 
ponies’ manes as well as the bridle. When 
they reached the chalet, the ponies knelt 
and the boys jumped off. 


THE WHITE GIANT 


4i 


The ponies whinnied as they turned and 
dashed away, flying through the forest. 
The boys stood watching them going so 
swiftly back to their beautiful white home, 
and a feeling of longing to be in the place 
where everyone was so kind and good 
came to them as they turned to go in to 
tell Ted’s mother and father of their adven¬ 
ture. Their hands met and Roy said, “Ted, 
I will be good, I will be good.” 

“I am going to try hard, Roy, to think 
of others first, and never again will I roll a 
cheese down the mountain side and hurt 
people’s feelings as I did,” said Ted, holding 
Roy’s hand very tight. 

The boys turned and put their hands to 
their ears to listen for the last echo of the 
ponies’ feet, and then they went into the 
house. 

When, in the snug chalets on the moun- 


42 


THE WHITE GIANT 


tain sides, on winter nights, old men gather 
around the fire to smoke and gossip and 
talk of tales of old, I wonder if, when 
they tell the legend of the wonderful flying 
horsemen, they are not listening to the 
swift-flying feet of the white ponies hurry¬ 
ing to their beautiful white home far in the 
mountains. 


THE WHITE GIANT 


43 



Old men gather around the fire to smoke and 
gossip and talk of tales of old 



























































THE BLACK GIANT 
















THE BLACK GIANT 


R oy and Ted walked many miles through 
the mountains trying to find again 
^ the White Giant’s castle, but never, 
never more could they find it. 

One day when they were walking through 
the mountains they suddenly came to a 
high black wall with great black gates all 
covered with black pitch and tar; sharp- 
pointed spikes ran along the top of the wall 
and gates so that no one could climb over. 
But boys, you know, will always find a way, 
so Ted and Roy tried crawling under the 
gates. 

Roy’s stomach was pretty fat and he 
stuck. Ted said, “Hold on a minute, Roy, 
I will help you.” 

Suiting the action to the word, he sat 


48 THE BLACK GIANT 



Roy and Ted walked many miles trying to find again 
the White Giant’s Castle 












THE BLACK GIANT 


49 


down hard on Roy’s stomach while Roy 
squeezed through, — losing only a few but¬ 
tons on the way. Ted was thin, so he man¬ 
aged to crawl through quite easily. 

“Look at my buttons; only two left to 
hold my trousers. That’s your fault, Ted 
Golay.” 

“Well, you wanted to get under the gate, 
didn’t you? Who helped you, I would like 
to know,” said Ted. 

“Gee whiskers! look at yourself. You are 
a pretty-looking fellow, all turning black.” 

“And so are you, Roy; it makes me 
tired to look at you.” 

“ This looks as if it were the Black Giant’s 
place. Come on, let’s investigate.” 

Roy pushed Ted ahead, making him stum¬ 
ble. He turned quickly and punched Roy 
in his stomach, and soon they were rolling 
over each other in a real fight. 

When they had fought it out, Ted jumped 


50 THE BLACK GIANT 

up and said, “What is the matter with us, 
anyway? I’m not really mad at you; I 
just want to quarrel.” 

“I know it,” said Roy. “There is something 
queer about this. I’ve felt cross and mean 
ever since I crawled inside the gate. We 
must be in the Black Giant’s place sure 
enough.” 

“What’s that?” Both boys jumped at the 
sound of harsh, ugly, roaring laughter, and a 
tall black figure came toward them. They 
were blinded by the great yellow eyes of 
the Black Giant. 

In an awful roaring voice he said, “Ha! 
ha! Queer, is it, that you crawled under my 
gates? I ’ll show you queerer things before 
you go out. Come on! Follow me.” 

The boys were so scared they could hardly 
make their legs go, but they knew they 
must pretend to be brave and unafraid, so 
they followed the Black Giant. 


THE BLACK GIANT 


5i 



A tall black figure came toward them 









52 THE BLACK GIANT 

“What an awful thing he is,” whispered 
Roy. 

And awful indeed he was. A man twelve 
feet tall, great, broad, round shoulders and 
back, arms and legs like tree trunks, and 
feet like elephant’s feet. His face was all 
evil; his nose was long and wagged like an ele¬ 
phant’s trunk as he sniffed the air about 
him, muttering to himself all the time: 

“Ha! ha! ha! What do I smell? 

Nice boys to eat, 

But I won’t tell.” 

His hair was black as night. It straight¬ 
ened out like seaweed. His eyes were so 
big and yellow they looked like automobile 
lights, but oh! so evil. Do you wonder the 
boys were scared almost stiff? 

They had to keep jumping fast to keep 
up with the Giant, who looked back often 
to see if they were following. 


THE BLACK GIANT 


53 


They came to a river whose water was 
as black as night. The Giant took one step 
and was over, but the boys could not even 
jump part way over. The Giant turned 
and roared his terrible laugh that made the 
ground shake and the trees tremble. 

“So you can’t jump over this little river; 
pretty boys you are!” 

He reached back and, with his big hand, 
caught the boys and swung them up on his 
shoulders. Poor Ted was so scared he fell 
off into the black water. The Giant reached 
down and caught him up roughly, shouting 
harsh words at poor Ted, who was splutter¬ 
ing with fear and soaking with dirty water. 

When Ted was back on the Giant’s shoul¬ 
der, Roy reached back of the Giant’s head 
to pat Ted’s hand in sympathy, but the 
Giant shouted: 

“None of that, none of that, we don’t do 
such things here! Sit up straight, now, I 


54 THE BLACK GIANT 

bid you, for we are going through the Black 
Forest and it is full of wild beasts who will 
smell nice little boys and be after them, but 
they can’t have you for I want you for my 
Queen. 

“Hello! here comes a big black bear now. 
Br-r-r, hungry, are you? Well, you can’t 
have these nice little fat boys,” and he 
kicked the bear with his great boot and it 
went whining off into the forest. 

A hippopotamus was the next to come 
out of the forest. He sniffed at the boys, 
but the Giant grabbed his ears and twisted 
the poor hippo’s head until he pulled away 
with all his might and went plunging into 
the forest, crying with pain and anger. The 
Giant laughed his terrible laugh, and the 
boys shivered with fright. 

“Now we are going right through the 
forest. We will be lucky if we don’t meet 
a giraffe or camel. They have such long 


THE BLACK GIANT 55 

necks they might reach you and make 
trouble. Keep your feet up.” 

The boys were not as much afraid of the 
animals as they were of the Giant. Their 
experience in the White Giant’s forest had 
made them love the animals. 

As they were going through the black, 
black forest, Teddy felt a soft, warm nose 
in his face, and he screamed lustily. 

“Oh, that’s just an old camel,” laughed 
the Giant, and he put his arm around the 
camel’s neck and ran so fast he made the 
camel stumble, and when the Giant took 
his arm from her neck she fell to the ground, 
— again that horrible, mocking laugh. 

“Oh! it is so dark,” whispered Ted. 

And just as he said this a crash of thunder 
echoed through the forest, and, as a flash 
of lightning lighted all about them, the. boys 
saw queer things. 

Many wild animals crouched, growling, in 


56 THE BLACK GIANT 

the underbrush, their eyes shining through the 
leaves; snakes coiled around the tree trunks; 
and little imps of black monkeys swung 
down to tease the Giant, but he could never 
catch them, they were so spry, and that made 
him angry, of course. If he could not have 
his own way in everything, it made him 
very ugly. He had never been made to 
keep or control his temper, or to consider 
the rights of other people, and so, of course, 
he had grown worse and worse until now he 
was this terrible creature, whose body had 
grown but whose heart and mind had not, 
and both were dwarfed and full of wicked, 
selfish thoughts. 

Both boys were so terrorized that when 
a bolt of lightning struck a near-by tree 
and came crashing in their path with that 
swishing, sighing, heart-broken cry a tree 
makes when it falls from its great height 
to the ground, they tried to jump, but the 


THE BLACK GIANT 


57 


Giant held them tight; then he popped them 
into a bag and swung them on his back. He 
said not a word, but stalked along, kicking 
here and there with his great feet at any 
animal in his path. The boys could hear 
the poor things howl or cry as they ran 
away. 

The boys did not dare peek out of the 
bag, but held tight to each other until at 
last they could hear no more the crush of 
the dead branches under the Giant’s feet, 
and so thought they were in the open 
again, but where, oh, where were they! 

The thunder still rolled and the lightning 
crashed, but the Giant strode on. Soon 
they knew they were going upstairs, for 
they swung back from the Giant’s back as 
he lifted his great feet, and then there was 
a thundering noise as the Black Giant’s 
great knuckles knocked on the door. 

There was a creaking and groaning as 


58 THE BLACK GIANT 



The Black Giant’s Castle 












THE BLACK GIANT 


59 


the doors swung back and the Black Giant 
stepped in and roared his orders to the 
people inside. With a thump and an evil 
word the Giant dumped the bag on the 
floor, and the boys jumped out, but when 
they saw the great cold, dark room, and 
the scary things about them, they whispered 
they wished they were back again in the 
bag. 

The Black Giant grabbed them by their 
collars and pulled them over to one end of 
the room where, on a raised platform, the 
boys were more scared than ever when they 
saw the Queen, who was nearly as wide as 
the Giant was tall. Her feet were heavy 
and as large as the two huge turtles on 
which they rested. 

The turtles’ heads were constantly moving 
from one side to another, as if they longed 
to get away from those awful feet. 

The Queen’s face was broad and shaped 


6o 


THE BLACK GIANT 


like a watermelon; one eye was very, very 
large and evil, as large as a teacup. The 
other was very small, and lo! the left ear, 
which she always kept turned away from 
the Giant, was white. 

Ted whispered to Roy, “There is a little 
bit of good in the Queen. Her left ear is 
white.” 

This was a little bit of comfort in this 
terrible place of evil and blackness. 

The boys knelt before the Queen as near 
to her left ear as possible, but the Giant 
pulled them to their feet. When they looked 
up and saw the Queen’s great evil eye look¬ 
ing at them they trembled anew. 

For a few minutes the boys were forgot¬ 
ten as the Giant and Queen began quarrel¬ 
ing, and it sounded as if all the wild beasts 
of the forest were growling. 

On the right of the platform, by the Queen’s 
chair, crouched a great wildcat, growling 


THE BLACK GIANT 61 


and snarling and trying to break 
her chains. On the other side of the 
Queen’s chair, pacing up and down, 
fretting at his chains, was a great 
black jackal with his hideous grin 
and howl. On the baick of the 
Queen’s chair were perched great 
owls, blinking their yellow eyes. 

The boys looked around them while the 
Giant and Queen were busy quarreling, and 
they saw to their horror a row of coal-black 
cats, fully a yard tall, all sitting on their 
tails in a row all around the room. The 
cats’ eyes, with the eyes of the other ani¬ 
mals, were the only lights in the room. The 
cats were snapping at their 
chains, as were the wolves, 
chained in a row back of them. 

Roy said, “Ted, there is no 
good here, everybody and 
everything is evil. We must 




62 


THE BLACK GIANT 


watch ourselves and keep our thoughts pure 
or we will be thinking of doing evil too.” 

“Yes, Roy, I’ve been thinking that too, 
but how are we ever to get away from this 
awful place?” 

“I don’t know, Ted, but we must watch 
for some chance.” 

“Want a chance to get away, do you, 
young man?” and the Giant whirled around. 
“You won’t find any chance to get away 
from here; we like little boys, don’t we, my 
beautiful Cleopatra? Ha! ha! he! he! ho! 
ho! hum-m-m! Come now, I’m hungry, we 
must have some supper,” and, without think¬ 
ing of anyone else, he seated himself in a 
high chair at the end of the table and rang 
a bell that echoed through the castle. 

As Roy and Ted offered their arms to 
the Queen, she actually smiled out of her 
little left eye. She leaned heavily on the 
boys’ arms. As she took her great feet 


THE BLACK GIANT 63 

from the turtles’ backs they drew their 
heads in for a rest. 

The Queen was dressed in black velvet 
and wore many big jewels. From her ears 
hung long black earrings, studded with 
jewels, and bangles jingled on her arms from 
wrist to shoulder. From her waist hung a 
long leather whip. 

The boys finally got her to the table and 
seated her. She then told them to be seated 
near her. She asked them their names, and 
really seemed interested when Roy said he 
was from the United States of America. 

Many tall, thin black goblins came in 
bearing the food. The black bean soup 
had been served to the Giant and he was 
splashing it to his mouth with a great deal 
of noise. The boys found the soup rather 
pleasant. Every other course was burned, 
and the Giant glowered at them so they 
were afraid to eat and afraid not to eat. 


64 THE BLACK GIANT 

A little black dwarf, hideous to look at, 
came in and jumped upon the table and 
whispered to the Queen in her black ear, 
so loudly that Roy, sitting near, heard him 
say, “Oh, Queen Cleopatra, the man will 
not milk the cow and there is no milk for 
dinner.” 

The Queen boxed his ears soundly and 
said, “Put the man in the dungeon and 
bring the cow to me. I will milk her.” 

The dwarf hopped down and disap¬ 
peared, but soon returned riding on a big 
black cow. They came to the Queen and 
the cow cried, “ Moo, moo,” shook the 
dwarf to the floor, and sidled up to the 
Queen. 

The Giant paid no attention to anyone, 
intent on gobbling his food. The boys 
thought he was worse than the “Goop” 
family by far. 

The Queen milked a tankard of milk and 


THE BLACK GIANT 65 

sent it to the Giant. Then because the 
cow whisked her tail to brush away a fly, 
the Queen took the whip at her side and 
whipped the poor cow so hard that the 
next cup of milk was buttermilk and the 
next beaten to cheese. Then with a lash 
of the whip the cow and dwarf disap¬ 
peared, and Ted was sure he saw real splash 
tears in the cow’s eyes. 

How miserably unhappy everyone was! 
The Goblins brought in a huge black choco¬ 
late cake and the boys began to cheer up 
a bit, but alas! selfishness again spoiled 
everything, for when the cake was put on 
the table the Giant reached for it and, 
drawing it to him, took all but a small slice, 
and that he sent to the Queen. The white 
ear must have whispered, “Give some to 
the boys,” for she broke two pieces and 
slipped them under the plate to Roy and 
Ted. They did not dare to thank her in 


66 


THE BLACK GIANT 


words, fearing the Giant would hear, but 
they smiled their thanks. 

“That’s her white ear, all right, Ted,” 
whispered Roy, and Ted pinched Roy under 
the table in understanding. 

The goblins never spoke; they looked 
too unhappy to speak. The animals were 
howling for food. The Giant threw bits at 
them, and when a piece of meat landed in 
an open mouth he laughed so hard the 
very rafters shook and everyone was still. 

The Queen ordered the goblins to feed 
the animals what was left on the table and 
the pieces were so small that when the 
tiger’s turn came, by mistake she swal¬ 
lowed the goblin and all, and no one seemed 
surprised. The lion roared; he wanted a 
goblin too, but the goblins had all taken to 
their heels and disappeared. 

The Giant went over to the lion and 
twisted his tail until the poor beast howled 


THE BLACK GIANT 67 

in pain, but he could not reach his tor¬ 
mentor for he was tightly chained. Then 
the Giant whisked the lion’s tufted tail 
into the face of the tiger, and when he had 
made the animals howl with anger, he 
laughed his awful laugh. 

Roy and Ted clung together, trembling 
with terror, but trying to be brave on the 
outside. 

Next the Giant came over to the Queen 
and said mockingly: 

“And why don’t your polite little boys 
help you back to your throne, my beauty?” 

At that he took her by her arms and 
tossed her in the air and she landed on her 
throne chair. The boys then saw her white 
ear turn all black. 

The Giant was in a playful mood. “Now 
my beautiful Cleopatra,” roared the Giant, 
and his face was horrible to look upon, 
“ Have the big oven made hot. These little 


68 


THE BLACK GIANT 


boys are too white-hearted. We like little 
black boys, nice little roasted black boys. 
Don’t we? Ha! ha!” 

The boys were surely white enough now. 
They clung together without a pretense of 
bravery. Roy whispered to Ted: 

“Think hard, Ted, about good things and 
let us keep our hearts right, and some help 
will come.” 

“ Yes, Roy dear, I’m trying hard. I don’t 
feel cross now any more.” 

Just then there was a fluttering of big 
wings, and down the black chimney came 
two great pure white storks. 

Without waiting to say, “How do you 
do!” one picked up Ted and the other 
picked up Roy and, before the Black Giant 
or his Queen could get on their feet, out 
the window they flew—out into the dark¬ 
ness of the castle grounds—up over the 
castle, which the boys saw now for the first 


THE BLACK GIANT 


69 



time. It was built of black coal, cemented 
with tar. In all the upper windows were 
cats, their queer yellow eyes peering 
out into the darkness. Roy began 
searching his pockets, 
and he brought out 
some matches. He 
struck them and drop¬ 
ped them on the roof of the black, black 
towers as they flew over them. 

“Oh, Roy, what have you done?” 

“Watch, Ted, and see.” 

In a minute the towers of the castle were 
burning like great torches. The animals 
came roaring out of the woods in terror. 

The great white storks flew on and on 
away from the place of evil, far over the 
beautiful mountains, until they came to a 
lake whose waters were clear blue in the 
early morning light. The birds flew down, 
and before the boys could say, “If you 


70 


THE BLACK GIANT 



Over the burning towers the white storks carried 
the boys 












THE BLACK GIANT 


7i 


/ 


please,” they were dipped for an early 
morning bath in the cold water. In they 
went two or three times, and then they 
were lifted to the shore and fanned dry 
with the storks’ great wings. 

When Ted got his breath he said, “Won’t 
you tell us please, Mr. Stork, how you 
chanced to come to us just in time to save 
our lives? That awful Black Giant was going 
to roast us in a big oven to make us black.” 

“Oh, my dear boy, it was no idle chance. 
It was by the order of the White Giant 
that we came to save you. It was he who 
knew you were in great danger, and he 
bade us tell you he hopes you will never 
do wrong again.” 

“Oh, never, never, never,” said Roy, and 
“Nimmer, nimmer, nimmer,” said little Swiss 
Ted. 

“Was it wrong, Mr. Stork, for me to drop the 
lighted matches on the castle?” asked Roy. 


72 


THE BLACK GIANT 


“Your matches only burned the outside 
of the towers, Roy. The Giant’s rooms in¬ 
side are all fireproof. Otherwise he would 
have been burned out long ago, for he is so 
full of wicked thoughts and selfishness that 
everyone wishes he were out of these beauti¬ 
ful mountains.” 

“Oh,” sighed Roy. “And I don’t know, 
do you, if he were sorry or glad?” 

The storks now made sure the boys’ cloth¬ 
ing was dry. Then they picked up the boys 
and flew away over hill and valley to the 
chalet on the mountain side. They flew 
through the open windows, put the boys 
in their beds and pulled the covers over 
them, and before Roy and Ted could say a 
“thank you,” they flapped their big wings 
good-by and were gone. 

Roy and Ted snuggled down to happy 
sleep after deciding to wait until morning 
to tell Ted’s parents of their adventure. 















I 






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